George Russell dominated the first practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix, while Lando Norris went off track three times. Ferrari, Red Bull Racing, McLaren, and Mercedes all occupied the top slots.
Russell came out on top of the session, staying dominant throughout FP1. Russell continued improving his first sector until Norris finally topped him closer to the end of the session. Unfortunately, Norris went off track a few times and later had issues with tyre graining. However, that did not stop Norris from setting the fastest lap and ending the first practice session in the top slot. Teammate, Oscar Piastri, did not have as good a session, ending down in 14th.
Another driver that fared well in his first session was Yuki Tsunoda with Red Bull Racing. He managed to warm up to the car and stay within a competitive range of Verstappen. After he got used to the car, he stayed within three places of Verstappen for the rest of the session. He ended up in 6th while Verstappen ended up in 5th.
Unfortunately for Haas, Oliver Bearman spent some practice time in the garage and the rest of the session in the bottom two. Teammate Esteban Ocon held the other bottom slot.
Stake Sauber was not much better with both of their drivers in 17th and 18th.
Full Results
Full FP1 results
